For more than three decades, Denise continues to be on WJZ’s anchor desk. She is one of the most respected and versatile broadcast journalists in town.
Viewers turn to Denise Koch when they want credible news reports presented by one of the most veteran news reporters and anchors in Baltimore.
Denise’s first introduction to WJZ viewers was on “Evening Magazine” where she was known as “Daring Denise,” tackling sports from hang gliding to scuba. She joined the newsroom as a lifestyle reporter, reviewing plays and films and filing stories twice a day on the arts and creative side of life. For a number of years, viewers were given an intimate portrait of fascinating Marylanders on her interview program, “Get To Know.”
The Emmy Award–winning journalist has traveled to China, West Africa and Jamaica to report the news. She also covered the home front from around the U.S. and from every corner of our state, bringing local, national and world events into sharp focus for WJZ viewers.
Her loyal sports fans accompanied Denise as she covered Baltimore’s search for an NFL team in Chicago to the Ravens’ quest for the 2001 Super Bowl trophy in Tampa.
She also followed struggling high school students for four years as they participated in the “Futures” program, a series earning her both a Maryland State Teachers Award and a National Angels Award. And, later she traveled with high school students to Senegal to discover the roots of slavery, giving rise to a series later showcased at museums and at the National Post Office in the nation’s capital.
Her work garnered Denise a host of awards. She is not only an Emmy award winner, but was nominated for Emmys eight times. The Society of Professional Journalists awarded her a prize for her documentary on Baltimore teachers in China, “Baltimore East.” Denise, a California native, attended UCLA where she earned the prestigious Natalie Wood Award for her talents. She graduated from California Institute of the Arts and later received her master’s from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Her acting career took her to theatres around the country and even to the soap opera television series, “Another World,” eventually bringing her to Center Stage where she also served as literary manager. She has taught at UMBC, University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin.
Giving back to the community is very important to Denise. She served on the advisory boards of the Hospice Network of Maryland, Success in Style (clothing women re- entering the workforce) and the Maryland Committee for the Children. For 10 years she served as a member of the Howard County Arts Council. She also served for two terms as a board member of the United Way of Central Maryland, and as a member of their women’s leadership council for five years. She is on the president’s advisory council for the University of Notre Dame, Maryland and also serves on the board of Camp Opportunity.
Denise and her husband live in Owings Mills.
